Life After Death
by something2do
Summary: After CODA, the group leave Atlanta WITH Beth's body. Daryl's in a dark place, but hopefully someone special can bring him back. (All my stories are aimed at getting Daryl a happy ending. Please note this one doesn't start out happy, but we will get there!)
1. Daryl

The soft golden strands slid across his rough fingers like silk. Her head lay heavily on his lap, her body curled along the backseat of the old sedan they'd taken from the hospital. As they cruised down the highway leaving Atlanta behind them, he knew he couldn't do it anymore.

Just days before they'd been headed towards Atlanta on another highway, charging in like the cavalry, guns ready and determined to save the girl. Beth, who he'd searched for and worried over and dreamed about since the moment they'd been separated. And they had saved her, and for just a moment he'd thought things were going to be ok. Just a brief fleeting moment, before the cruel reality of the world they now lived in had taken her from him.

The guilt of having failed her was crushing.

Daryl closed his eyes and leant back against the seat behind him. He couldn't look anymore - not at the blood stained hair, or the scars or the stillness of her body. But with his eyes closed he was back in that hallway, with the scene replayed over in his mind like a slow motion movie. Her body falling, the pool of blood spreading, Dawn's panicked expression just before he took her life.

He turned to stare vacantly out the window instead, at the abandoned buildings and broken-down cars as they flashed passed. He didn't know what else was left. She was gone, and with her went all the hope he had that there may be something out there for them.

Now he couldn't even imagine it.

He didn't want to struggle and fight anymore. Making it through one gruelling day after another, just to watch as one by one they lost their friends and family. He couldn't be the last man standing.

It was time, he knew, to just let go.

But first they would bury her properly, he owed her that much. This deceptively strong girl who had shown him he could feel, and he could let someone in, only to leave him more alone than ever. He would find a field somewhere, with long grass and wild flowers, maybe even one of those big old elm trees that she liked so much. A field just like the one they had wandered through together once, which she had said reminded her of the farm. Father Gabriel would read from his bible and the others would cry and then it would be time to move on. He knew Rick would want to head north to Richmond, Noah's promise of an established community would be too much to pass up.

But he wouldn't go.

Rick would fight him of course, Carol would too, but he couldn't go with them. He'd stay behind in that field where she laid, with the long grass and the flowers and he would look up at the clear blue sky and it would be over.

Daryl reached down to hold her much smaller hand with his. Her fingers felt tiny as he threaded them together, remembering the last time they'd held hands as they mourned her father. He was lost in thought, holding her hand and stroking her hair when he felt the slight curling of her soft fingertips against his skin. He looked down at their joined hands and waited, sure his mind was deceiving him. But then it happened again. The movement of her first two fingers was just a slight fluttering, but it was definitely real.

He should have been expecting this, he told himself. Although she'd been shot in the head, the entry wound was high on her forehead. The bullet had probably just skimmed her brain, enough to be fatal but not enough to totally incapacitate it.

He held her hand as her fingers twitched. He knew the movement was caused by the virus taking over, but he wanted to pretend for just a moment longer. Pretend they were back in a time when holding her hand or stroking her hair would have made him feel happy and content. He'd spent his life avoiding human contact, but with her it had been easy, comfortable even. The friendly touches, arms brushing as they walked, or her head on his shoulder as she slept and become a part of who they were.

Beth began to slowly gain strength, and soon the soft fluttering was more a light squeezing of her fingers against his. As he gazed at her face he saw her lips part gently.

Daryl bought their joined hands up towards her face and gently stroked her cheek, then across her lips. The gentle movement of her lips against the soft skin of his wrist felt like a fluttering butterfly wing.

It would be easier this way. If he was bitten, he knew Rick could let him go with a clear conscience. He closed his eyes and felt a sense of peace that he had never felt before. The fight was over, wherever Beth was now, that's where he wanted to be too. The hunger, the fear, the pain - it was all in the past.

Daryl gently pressed his wrist against her lips and waited. He waited for the virus to completely take over her body, and the smell of his skin to awaken the monster within.


	2. Rick

Rick's mind was racing, his foot hard against the accelerator, and his knuckles white on the steering wheel. At times like this the weight of his leadership seemed like more than he could bear. Three people had lost their lives that day, and the responsibility of that sat heavily on his shoulders. He went over it all in his mind - second guessing every move, questioning every decision. He wondered where they should go next, how he could possibly keep his people safe. How he could keep his children safe.

They had been standing outside the hospital; shell shocked and grieving; when Glen had pulled him aside to explain why their mission was abandoned. Basically Washington was a bust, and now they had no plan, and no place to go.

He hadn't had a chance to tell the others. He was still processing what Eugene's deceit would mean for the group when a guard on the roof had waved and screamed at them to get out. It was only seconds later that they heard the first moans.

Whether they were drawn by the fire truck rumbling through the city streets, the gunshots, or Maggie's loud wails, he didn't know. But either way, it seemed as though every walker in Atlanta was converging on the hospital. Edwards had appeared at the door and tossed Rick the keys to the old sedan in the car park before barricading the front entrance. He'd helped Carol into the passenger side and then slid himself behind the steering wheel. Daryl had climbed in the back with Beth, while the others had made a run for the firetruck. As soon as he heard the old truck roar to life Rick had pulled away, watching in his rear view mirror as the dead began to swarm through the gates.

The fire truck was a lot slower to manoeuvre through the city than the car, and out on the open road it was still slow, lumbering along in the distance behind them. Rick reduced his speed to let them catch up. Having that couple of miles of open highway between him and his children made him nervous.

His children. Judith, who was practically raised by Beth for the first months of her life, yet would never know her. And Carl, the young man who was really just a boy, would be crushed by Beth's death. If there was any saving grace it was that he wasn't there in that hallway to see it.

Losing a member of their group was always a huge blow, but loosing Beth he knew would leave them all a little more broken. She was Maggie's little sister, but in a way she had become like a little sister to them all. They had all watched her grow from the terrified teenager with the bandaged wrist, to the hopeful young woman with so much to offer. Beth was one of the things that made their little group a family, her hope and spirit the glue that held them together. But now she was gone. He couldn't save Hershel and he couldn't save his daughter either.

Rick looked out the windows as he drove, constantly on alert for possible danger. His mind raced as he tried to figure out their next move. The first priority would be to find somewhere they could be safe for just a little while. They desperately needed to take some time out, to bury Beth and recuperate.

He took a moment then to check on Carol. She was pale and a little dozy from pain killers but she was a survivor. Rick knew she'd had a lifetime of practice at pushing on through the pain. This morning she'd been in a coma, and just now she'd walked herself down five flights of stairs and back into the horror movie that was their lives. She needed time and a place to rest, but she'd be OK.

Rick glanced over his shoulder at Daryl, his brother and right hand man. He knew he was hurting; they all were; but he could see Daryl's pain was different.

Since that night by the road side when he'd turned up with Joe's group, Rick had noticed the changes in him. He was quieter, more balanced. He was still quick to action and fiercely protective of their group, but he didn't seem to carry the same simmering anger and resentment anymore.

After Merle had died and Daryl had been forced to put down his own brother, Rick had been the one to meet him at the prison gate. Then he'd been hurt and he'd been angry, but he'd kept it inside for the most part. There was nothing like the raw emotion he'd shown in the hospital. How he'd shot Dawn without a second thought, and then bent over Beth's body, sobbing. He had scooped her up from the floor in that hallway and hadn't let her go, holding her even now as he stared blankly out the window. Rick wondered then how much of the change he'd seen in his friend had to do with his time alone with Beth. He knew he couldn't rely on him for the moment. Maybe Glen could step up, to assume the unofficial role of second in command.

Rick chanced another quick look over his shoulder, at the youthful face covered in scars. A trickle of blood ran slowly crossed her forehead. He saw Daryl's hand entwined with her smaller one, his other hand stroking her hair.

And then he almost ran off the road as her eyes fluttered open.

Her eyes were open and her lips were moving, and Daryl's hand was just there, so close to her opening mouth. Beth was turning and he was too lost in his grief to notice. Rick panicked and braked hard, swerving across the road. He jumped out of the car, flung open the backdoor, and grabbed a handful of jeans to slide her across the seat. As he lowered her gently to the road Daryl scrambled across the seat after them.

"Rick, No!"

Rick turned, his hands rubbed his forehead as he paced a few meters away. He needed a moment to compose himself. The thought of what he was about to do made him sick to his stomach, but it was his responsibility. He drew his gun and took a deep steadying breath. He would do this, for Maggie and Daryl, and ultimately for Beth herself. When he turned back he saw Daryl knelt over her body, shoulders hunched, looking nothing like the strong man he knew.

Rick shifted his weight from one foot to the other "I have to do it Daryl."

He watched as Daryl leant forward and lifted her body up against his chest. Her face pressed into his leather vest just below his shoulder and he laid his head against her hair. Her arm was caught up between their bodies and her fingers clutched weakly at his shirt.

"No. Not her. Not yet."

"Daryl… you need to let her go." Rick took a step closer, raising his gun as he did so. He was nervous, with Daryl so close to danger and Beth so close to becoming what none of them ever wanted to be.

Daryl shook his head No.

"Maggie will be here in a minute, she shouldn't see this." Rick took another step closer, his gun aimed and ready to intervene if it became necessary.

Daryl pulled his own weapon then, he lifted his arm and his eyes towards Rick. His face was hard, his watery eyes blank as he aimed his gun at his friend.

"I. Said. No."

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**Thank you for reading! I know it's a bit dark but it goes get better I promise. In fact the end may be a little too sugary, but poor Daryl needs a happy ending, right!**

**Please review if you can, I'm knew to this and would love to improve my writting! Thanks again. X0**


	3. Carol

Carol had been resting, or at least trying to when the car had screeched to a halt. She jolted awake with one hand on her knife, searching through the windows for whatever danger had forced Rick to stop. By the time she was sure they were safe, for now at least, she was alone in the car.

Carol eased her battered body out of the door. With one arm cradled against her chest and the other against the car for support, she rounded the bonnet as fast as she could.

When she saw them all - standing, kneeling, lying on the road, she knew instantly what had happened.

It was Beth's fingers that first gave it away, weakly grasping at  
the rough bitumen beside her. Her eyes stared straight up at the sky, her  
pale lips moving as though she were whispering. Haunting as her appearance was, the sight of Daryl lifting her to his chest and aiming his gun at Rick was worse. The hunch of his shoulders, the tremor of his outstretched arm - he looked utterly lost and broken.

And she understood, because she had been there herself not so long ago.

When they had lost Mika, Carol had felt like all reason to survive was lost too. That sweet little girl with the resilient smile and gentle nature had been the bright spark of hope that had kept her going. Keeping her safe, provided for and protected had been more important than anything. When they had lost her, just like they'd lost everything else, she had felt empty. Inadequate even, because she knew she should have been able to protect her and she hadn't.

Carol could imagine that Beth was to Daryl, in a way, what Mika had been to her. Someone to make the struggle and fight to survive worthwhile, a reason to keep living.

But she also knew there was more to it than that.

From the moment they'd been reunited and he'd hugged her with such open emotion, she saw he had changed. Then as they searched Atlanta together she'd studied him and realized what had changed - he'd grown up. The angry defensive young man she had met so long ago in that quarry was gone, and Carol knew it was because of Beth.

He'd been so desperate to find her, ready to tear Atlanta apart until Noah had said her name and his face had lit up in a way she hadn't seen before. When she had woken in the hospital with Beth holding her hand, and told her that Daryl was nearby Beth's face had lit up in the same way.

She could see it in both of them, the bond that they'd built. Daryl had spent his life keeping people at arm's length in self-preservation, yet somehow that young woman had made it past his defences and into his heart.

Carol's own heart was breaking for him.

What could possibly be left in this world for him now that would make the constant struggle and fight worthwhile?

After Mika, she'd still had Judith depending on her, just as Daryl still had the rest of their family. But she had questioned whether she could be enough to save her either. People like them, people who had been taught their whole lives that they weren't good enough were quick to assume the burden of failure.

That was why she had told Tyreese about Karen. She'd slid the gun across the table, hoping he'd take the decision out of her hands and end it for her. That moment of weakness was how she understood what Daryl was feeling, and why he couldn't distance himself from the danger he now held in his arms.

After that moment though, she'd been glad to still be alive. Watching as Rick and Carl were reunited with Judith, Tyreese with Sasha, and her own reunion with Daryl, she had seen there was still some good mixed up in the bad.

The guilt and the emptiness she had struggled with hadn't really gone away, but now she knew it was worth it. She knew there was still good out there for Daryl too if he would let himself see it.

Rick took a step back, his wide eyes on Daryl and his weapon. This was something he hadn't planned for, a threat he couldn't take down with force, and he didn't know how to deal with it. Carol put her hand on his forearm in silent reassurance that she did. He nodded reluctantly and she stepped forward, placing herself between Daryl's weapon and Rick.

"Daryl, we can't let her turn." She knew the way to get through to him would be if it was for Beth, not for himself. He lowered his gun, deflated. His shoulders hunched and his head hung low.

"Daryl..." Carol took another step closer and he looked up at her, his watery eyes meeting hers, and she shook her head. "Daryl, Beth wouldn't want his."

He still held his gun in one hand, and he used the back of that hand to wipe his cheeks. He sat still for a moment, Beth's head against his chest, and one hand in her hair. Carol could see exactly what he was thinking, because she'd thought it too. Weighing it all up, the cost of living against the burden of failure, the chance of survival against the price of losing even more.

He nodded "She wouldn't want this," he repeated quietly.

He straightened his shoulders and then he nodded again.

"But, I should be the one to do it."

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**If your still with me, the next chapters where it gets interesting (I think anyway!) Thanks for reading :)**


	4. Beth

Her head hurt like nothing she'd ever felt before. It was like a siren was inside it, blaring so loudly she couldn't think or hear or see. She felt weightless, that floating feeling where your arms stray out to the side and your muscles relax. She tried to move her fingers and her toes but she couldn't quite remember how to. In fact, she couldn't really feel her body at all, just a coldness where her body should have been.

Slowly the siren became quieter, the fuzziness began to clear and her senses were returning. She knew she was moving now, a constant motion with a shuddery feeling to it. She willed herself to snap out of it, to make sense of what she was feeling, but the blanket of confusion over her mind was too heavy.

Gradually she became aware that while her body was still icy cold, one hand felt warm. She concentrated on that feeling, tried to wrap her fingers around the warmness, and hold on to it. Her hand was moved then, lifted, although she wasn't the one lifting it. She felt that lovely warmness press against her cheek and she wrestled her eyes open in response.

Suddenly, the constant shuddery motion stopped. For a moment everything was still and quiet, before she was jerked sideways at a speed that made her head spin. When it stopped spinning she was laid out on a hard surface. She could feel it rough and uncomfortable against her back.

The warmth that was wrapped around her hand was gone. She tried to find it again, moving her fingers as best she could, but it wasn't there. Her vision was beginning to clear and she focused on that for a moment. She could see a blue, a hazy far away kind of blue that reminded her of… something.

The sky, it was the sky!

She took a moment to delight in that small success before shifting her focus to her hearing. There was a soft muffled rumble, far away but getting closer. A gruff undulating kind of rumble, sometimes loud, sometimes soft and then sometimes nothing. A voice! She couldn't grasp what they were saying but it meant that where ever she was, she wasn't alone.

She was quickly moved again, lifted this time. The faraway blue of the sky was replaced by a closer shiny black instead. Her nose was pressed in tight against it and she inhaled the scent of worn leather, sweat and the outdoors. It was a scent she recognized and a clear memory rushed through her mind. A memory of feeling safe and protected, with her face pressed into that scent in a hug and her arms wrapped around something warm and solid.

The voice was becoming clearer, closer. It was right near her ear, but it wasn't speaking anymore, now it was more a quiet sobbing. She knew who it was, it was… it was right there but she couldn't grasp it. Daryl! It was Daryl who held her, the soft flannel of his shirt beneath her fingertips and the light pressure of his chest against her forehead. She felt relief wash over her. Whatever was happening would be OK because she was with Daryl. She wanted to tell him "I'm here, I'm OK, you found me" but she couldn't.

There was another voice too, deep and firm, and she heard it clearly now.

"Daryl…you need to let her go. Maggie will be here in a minute." She knew that voice, That was…..Rick! That was Rick's voice!

"We can't let her turn." A softer voice, was that… Carol?

She struggled to understand what was happening. She knew the words, but what they were saying didn't make any sense. Let who turn? Her? Did they think she was dead?

Rick had said Maggie, so that meant her sister was alive. And Daryl and Rick and Carol were all here. But they thought she was dead? Was she? She could hear their voices, she could smell the leather of Daryl's vest and she could feel his hands holding her tight. She must have been alive and she had to let them know, she had to make them hear.

The un-mistakable sound of a gun being cocked pulled her from her rambling thoughts.

"But, I should be the one to do it."

_No! No Daryl, I'm right here, I'm alive. I can hear you. Help me!_

She felt herself panicking. She tried to scream but there was no air in her lungs and the best she could manage was a quiet "Heee.."

She felt herself lowered back to the hard ground and her vision blurred again, black back to blue and then she could see him. His face was turned to the side, his eyes squeezed shut. She willed him to look at her, to see her eyes and know that she was still here. _Why won't he look at me?_

She tried to move but the most she could manage was to jerkily lift her arm. She wanted to scream 'Help me, I'm alive' but she couldn't.

The steel gun barrel felt cold against the soft skin behind her ear. She tried one more time with everything she had.

"Help… me..."

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**Thank you for all the reviews! I've never shown my writing to everyone, so I love hearing what you think. I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing. **


	5. Maggie

She had been crying, but now she just stared blankly out the window. She felt empty, hollow, like a part of her had died back at that hospital with her sister.

When the walkers had turned up she had barely noticed and if Glen hadn't grabbed her arm she probably would have just stayed right there. He'd hauled her towards the firetruck and pushed her up into the cab, clearing their path with his rifle as they ran.

Now the old truck rumbled along the open highway, passing broken buildings that gradually made way for the woods that had become their home. The windscreen was covered with blood, the people around her were covered in blood, and yet she couldn't even remember how they'd made it out of the city.

Somehow they'd lived to fight another day, and Maggie didn't really care.

Since they'd fled the prison, Maggie had felt her sister's absence like a heavy weight in her chest. She never said it out loud, not even to Glen, but inside she had believed Beth was dead. She loved her younger sister but she wasn't a survivor, she hadn't been made for this world. So Maggie had silently grieved - for Beth, and for her Daddy, and for the life they could have had at the prison.

At the times when she felt most like giving up, she'd hear Beth's voice telling her "_We don't get to be upset. We all have jobs to do and yours is to keep goin"._ So she would get back up and she'd keep going, but she didn't know how many more times she could.

Beside her, Abraham leant forward over the steering wheel, his eyes squinted at the road before him "What the hell?"

Maggie turned from her window to look at Abraham, and then out through the bloody front windscreen to see what had caught his attention.

Ahead they could see the sedan Rick was driving stopped haphazardly across the middle of the road, the doors thrown open. There were no accidents, no roadblocks, no walkers – no reason at all for stopping that they could see.

The firetruck shuddered to a halt and they all climbed out, weapons in hand, eyes scanning the surrounding trees. Glen kept a hand on Maggie and steered her into the middle of the group. He knew she was in no shape to take care of herself.

They stalked forward slowly, cautiously. Abraham was the first to reach the car followed closely by Maggie and Glen. As they stepped around the boot and the smaller group came in to view they all lowered their weapons.

Daryl was sitting with his back against the car, legs out and Beth's body held closely against his chest. With one hand he pressed a cloth to her forehead. Rick crouched beside him, his head lowered and gun hanging loosely from his hand. Carol knelt on Daryl's other side, one hand on his shoulder and the other holding Beth's hand where it rested on Daryl's leg.

Maggie knew just by looking at them what had happened, and if she hadn't been so numb she would have started to cry again. The thought of her sister turning, being pulled from the car as she tried to attack the people she'd once cared about made her feel physically ill. She wondered which of them had been the one to do it, Rick probably. Glen put his hand on her arm and tried to steer her away, but she couldn't be moved.

As Maggie stood watching she realized there was something about the scene before her that didn't make sense. If there had been a gunshot, then they should be moving on. Piling back in the cars and leaving before they were swarmed by walkers or worse, other survivors.

Yet Daryl and Rick and Carol were still there on the road, eyes red and cheeks wet with tears. The rest of the group had formed a loose semicircle around them, and some of them were crying too. Tyreese had an arm around Sasha's shoulders. No one was in any hurry to get moving, and she couldn't remember hearing a gunshot. Maggie looked down at the blond head that rested against Daryl's chest just below his chin. The back of her head was bloody, but no more so than it had been before. She didn't understand.

Rick looked up then and smiled at her. "Your sisters a tough one." He nodded his head towards Beth, encouraging Maggie to move closer. She slowly stepped around Daryl's legs and knelt down too.

Beth was a tragic sight. Her yellow shirt was splattered red, her hair stained pink with blood, and her skin was pale. But… her eyes were blue. A beautiful shiny blue, so full of life as they looked up at her.

"Hey…Maggie" she breathed weakly.


	6. Daryl (2)

He knew they were right.

Beth wouldn't want to turn. She wouldn't ever want to hurt anyone. And her sister, she shouldn't have to see that. It had to be done, and it had to be him, not Rick, because he was the one who had failed her.

He should have stopped her in that hallway. He should have found her sooner, or caught up with that car, or not let her get taken in the first place. If he had only found the Governor and saved her Daddy… But he hadn't. He had failed her in so many ways, but this, this he could do for her.

Daryl savoured the feeling of her warmth against his chest for a moment longer before he lowered her body back down onto the road. He couldn't bring himself to let her go completely, so he kept one arm curled around her shoulders. With the other trembling hand he placed his gun against the soft skin behind her ear. Her beautiful face, all scarred and covered in blood, was too painful to look at so he closed his eyes and turned away.

Daryl took a deep breath and prepared to fire. _I'm sorry Beth. You deserved better than this._

He was about to pull the trigger when he heard it, a breathless and barely audible "help me."

He looked down at her face, at her eyes that where still a brilliant blue, not the milky colour of a walker. She slowly blinked.

"Beth?"

She blinked again and clutched at his shirt with what meagre strength she had. "Hey"

And with that one ordinary little word he felt his chest clench so tightly he thought he was having a heart attack.

"She's alive. Rick! She's alive."

Rick had rushed over and dropped to his knees in front of them. Carol too, as fast as her body would allow her.

"Oh my god."

"Lift her up, support her head. Here, hold this against the wound." Carol had been given basic medical training by Hershel, but what they were faced with was way out of her depth.

Daryl sat back against the car and pulled Beth up against him, taking the cloth from Carol to press against her forehead. She lay so still in his arms, her body slumped heavily against his chest, and he worried she could still slip away from him. Every time her eyes closed he held his breath until they fluttered open again.

Daryl knew they needed help "Rick, we gotta get her back to Grady."

"No…." Beth's fingers twisted a little at his shirt. "can't… trust… Dawn." She spoke slowly, quietly, drawing in a shallow breath between words.

"She's dead." Rick told her gruffly.

"Oh" She was relieved, but Daryl could see sadness in her face too. "She was… never gonna …let you leave Rick… I had to …try…stop her."

Daryl and Rick shared a look of understanding over her head. They had both been unable to comprehend Beth's attack on Dawn with those tiny scissors, but now it made sense. She'd done it for them.

Beth shifted her eyes then to look up at Daryl. Her eyes roamed over his face, taking him in like she was looking at some long lost treasure. He knew he was looking back at her the same way, but he couldn't help it, because to him that's exactly what she was. The corners of her mouth lifted in a weak smile. "Knew I'd…see you again."

He nodded, his own lips twitching. "You were right." And she had been right, he thought, about everything. About their family being alive, and about him needing to have a little faith. But mostly she'd been right about how much he'd miss her when she was gone.

Her eyes left his face then and began to search around. "Maggie..?"

"Maggie's fine, she'll be here in a minute." Carol said, squeezing her shoulder affectionately.

Daryl rested his head on top of hers, relishing the feel of her soft hair against his chin. He found he needed to touch her, needed that confirmation she was really there with him, alive and breathing. "Just rest, ya gonna be OK" he said, to reassure then both.

They needed to get moving. Turn the car around and head straight back to Grady and the people who could help her. But first he just needed a moment. In truth, he didn't think he could stand up if he tried.

It wasn't just Beth being alive that had turned his legs to jelly and left a tightness in his chest, but also how her being alive had made him feel. Just moments ago he'd been in the darkest place he'd ever been in his whole dark life, and now it was as though someone had lit a candle within him. He was filled with such light and warmth that he had never felt before.

For Daryl, life had always been about survival, as far back as he could remember. Out of necessity he'd learnt how to look after himself, how to watch his back and never let people close. Until now.

It had been happening slowly, but it wasn't until right then that he had realized how far he had come. From the moment he'd become a part of the group, been trusted and given responsibility, he'd been changing. Unlearning those early lessons and becoming the man he should have been all along. When they had lost the prison and their people he could have reverted back to his old ways, but he hadn't. Because Beth had been there, with her faith and her smile and her unwavering belief in him. They had burnt down that old shack at her suggestion and he knew it was because she had seen him, really seen him, and believed in him anyway.

It had begun that night, the warm glow he was feeling now, but at the time he'd blamed it on the moonshine. In the weeks that followed it had only grown stronger as they'd hunted and traveled and survived together. He knew they'd been moving towards something, something he hadn't completely understood, but now he did. Because on that road in the middle of nowhere with her safely in his arms, he could finally put a name to the warm tightness in his chest, and he felt as though he was seeing the world in a new light.

He pressed his lips to her forehead beside the cloth he held over her wound, not even caring that Rick and Carol were right there too. If such amazing things could happen as Beth Greene surviving a bullet to the head, and just as amazing - that he, Daryl Dixon could be in love, then he knew anything was possible. There could be somewhere out there for them. Somewhere they could be safe and build a life for themselves, and he was going to make damn sure that they were both around to see it.

The firetruck arrived behind them with a hiss and a squeal of brakes, and one by one they were joined by the others. Soon everyone he knew and cared about in this world were standing in front of them, their faces a mix of confusion and awe and happiness. As he sat there, slumped against the car with Beth against his chest, his brother on one side and his good friend on the other, it occurred to him that this was more people than he'd ever had in his life before.

A moment later Maggie had knelt in front of them, her face alight with the kind of unbelievable joy and love that mirrored what Daryl was feeling inside. She had reached forward and stroked her sister's face, before bursting into tears and throwing her arms around her. One of her arms had flung around Daryl's shoulder as well and he hadn't even minded being caught up in their reunion.

They did need to leave though, and after a few minutes of quiet celebration Rick had called on everyone to get back in the cars. Daryl scooped Beth up and held her in his arms, just as he had earlier as he had carried her from the hospital. The vital difference was this time her beautiful eyes were open, and his weren't filled with tears. He leaned closer to reassure her with a gruff whisper "I got ya. Ya safe now. It's gonna be ok."

And she smiled up at him, as brightly as she could, "I know."

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**Sorry this one took a while, I struggled with getting Daryl to have a change of heart without sounding too soppy, cause that's just not our Daryl! **

**I think I'll end this story here. ****I did plan on two more chapters (kinda sugary sweet ones) but I like the idea of it ending with her in his arms, the same way it all started. Thanks for reading! Please Review. :) **


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